Key Text

Mark 15:1-15

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes
and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him,"Are you the King of the Jews?" He answered him,"You say so." Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again,"Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you." But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked.

Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the
insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them,"Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again,"Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" They shouted back,"Crucify him!" Pilate asked them,"Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more,"Crucify him!"

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Present Context

For Reflection

How do we understand the death of Jesus? Much theological reflection has ensued about its meaning, but what caused it in the first place? Why did people rise up against him? Why would people choose to reject the Son of God, the only perfect human? What was it about Jesus and his ministry which lead to his crucifixion?

We cannot understand the meaning of God's raising of Jesus from the dead until we understand what caused us to put him to death in the first place. The resurrection stands as affirmation of the very thing we tried to stop in crucifying Jesus. This is the way of the cross, the way of hope, of God's future.

"My ways are not your ways," says the Lord

We pray: When we come to the empty tomb we too easily forget the cross which brought us there in the first place. O God, give us an understanding of life, and of faith, which links both cross and empty tomb, and gives us a discipleship which is firmly grounded in both realities.